Dear Sisters and Brothers,

May this letter find you rejoicing in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ! Here in Guatemala, we are finishing up the academic year. That means a little sadness for us, what with one group of students moving on. It also means grading final exams, not our favorite thing to do. It does, however, give me time to reflect on the last year that was.

Our last missionary correspondence letter mentioned that we have seen some difficulties at the seminary. Some of those difficulties continue, though I am happy to report that Gadiel Gomez is still the academic dean and Rafael Par is still teaching. I find myself focusing at this point on the students, and especially on some of our younger students, maybe because that is one concrete source of hope for the future of the Presbyterian church in Guatemala, with all its present difficulties. I’d like to tell about a couple of our students.

Julio Perez lives among a set of thrown-together houses clinging to a hillside in the town of El Tumbador. The town itself clings economically to the coffee and other products grown in those mountains. When he was a teenager, Julio fell into the drifting lifestyle of young people in a marginal community. When he accepted Christ in the small Presbyterian church in his neighborhood, that changed. He left off the old ways and looked to the Lord for direction in his life.

When I met Julio he was only two or three years into his new life. He had accepted an offer of a scholarship to study at the seminary, funded by Western North Carolina Presbytery. His ability to grasp gospel truths quickly became apparent. It took longer to find out the kind of sacrifices he was making to study. He and another young man made the decision to leave one of the scarce jobs in his community, because they would not give him Tuesday off to study at the seminary.

Recently Debbie and I had the chance to be there for the "presentation" of his son to the church. Meeting his wife and others of his family gave me a sense of the faith and generosity of a family that constantly faces challenges and looks to the Lord to help them through. Julio has been working laying block with his uncle, who freely agrees to his taking the time off to study at the seminary.

Martin Itzep is a young man from the Maya Quiche Presbytery. He is quiet, often preferring to let others talk. When he does say something it draws my full attention because I know that his take on things is worth hearing. He has that kind of young inquiring mind that not only challenges the professor, politely, in his case, as his Mayan heritage requires, but could also lead him to the kind of scholarship that will allow him to contribute to the kind of new and creative theological reflection needed here. Even when his inquisitiveness leads, as it recently did, to doubts in the form of theological questions he doesn’t yet have answers for, he is, in his words, committed to remain firm in the faith.

Dreams of future professors? You bet. Professors Julio Perez and Martin Itzep! It has a nice ring to it. I can’t think of any greater career satisfaction than seeing your students go on to take their place, and someday my place, as professors.

The church here needs fresh leadership. The battle-scared veterans of the effort to be faithful in a country where corruption seems "normal," even to many in the church, need a younger generation to join with them. God willing and God sustain them, Julio and Martin and many others will be taking their place in leadership positions in the church here. Please join me in praying for them.

Since this will be the last letter before Christmas, may the Lord give you joy in celebrating His birth and His continued presence with us.

Merry Christmas,

Debbie and Harry Horne

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 241